Global media giant Netflix has given up on acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery.
According to the Associated Press and others, on the 26th (local time) Netflix said the Warner Bros. acquisition transaction was "no longer financially attractive," and that it would step back from the deal. On the news, Netflix shares jumped more than 10% in after-hours trading.
Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement, "We believed we could be good stewards of Warner Bros.' iconic brands," adding, "However, this transaction was always nice to have at the right price; it was not something that had to happen at any price."
Earlier, in December last year, Netflix signed a deal to acquire Warner Bros. assets, excluding the cable TV network, at $27.75 per share. But when Paramount, which launched a hostile merger and acquisition (M&A), drove up the purchase price, the Warner Bros. board judged that Paramount's offer was more favorable to shareholders than Netflix's deal.
As a result, Paramount came to embrace major content corporation Warner Bros. less than a year after merging with Skydance. Warner Bros. is a leading Hollywood studio that holds the "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" series.